India-China Border Clash: 'PM must be mindful of implications of his words: Manmohan Singh on Ladakh face-off'

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Sukla Sen

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Jun 22, 2020, 6:28:40 AM6/22/20
to foil-l

[<<In his first remarks on the Ladakh face-off, former prime minister Manmohan Singh on Monday said PM Narendra Modi must be mindful of the implications of his words and cannot allow China to use them as a vindication of its position.>>

(Excerpted from sl. no. I. below.)

At sl. no. III, (which includes the video clip of the relevant slice of Modi's address to the all-party meet on Friday, June 19 - as used by the Chinese media) and IV. are illustrations of how the Chinese side is using it.

(The transcript of the video clip: "na wahan koi hamari seema me ghus aaya hai aur na hi koi ghusa hua hai, na hi hamari koi post kisi dusre ke kabje me hai.”
The English (unofficial) translation: “neither has anyone intruded (into our territory) there, nor is (now) any intruder there, nor is any of our posts occupied by someone else.”)

We very much know that 20 precious Indian lives had been lost in a brutal hand-to-hand fight between the two armies.
The evident question then arises as regards the location of the fight: on whose land?
The Chinese side is using the PM's speech to substantiate their claim that the Indian troops had intruded into their side of the LAC and, there, the fight took place,

That's a sort of di[lomatic disaster.]

I/IV.
https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/pm-must-be-mindful-of-implications-of-his-words-manmohan-singh-on-ladakh-face-off/story-oDVFHW7IFqzBwdbFbNi4CM.html?fbclid=IwAR0R2m2JvnQnGf2JO8A6vOeP83k_JeGPTyW7Zo_kyVaDRxnVFl5css8xn-M

PM must be mindful of implications of his words: Manmohan Singh on Ladakh face-off
Noting that disinformation is no substitute for diplomacy or decisive leadership, Singh called upon the prime minister to ensure justice for soldiers who died defending India’s territorial integrity.

INDIA Updated: Jun 22, 2020 11:41 IST
Press Trust of India | Posted by: Shivani Kumar
New Delhi, Delhi

The Congress has been attacking the government on Prime Minister Modi’s remarks at an all-party meeting that no one has entered Indian territory or captured any military post while referring to the eastern Ladakh standoff.(PTI file photo)
 
In his first remarks on the Ladakh face-off, former prime minister Manmohan Singh on Monday said PM Narendra Modi must be mindful of the implications of his words and cannot allow China to use them as a vindication of its position.

Noting that disinformation is no substitute for diplomacy or decisive leadership, Singh called upon the prime minister to ensure justice for soldiers who died defending India’s territorial integrity.

“To do any less would be a historic betrayal of people’s faith,” he said in a statement.

The Congress has been attacking the government on Prime Minister Modi’s remarks at an all-party meeting that no one has entered Indian territory or captured any military post while referring to the eastern Ladakh standoff.

The government has, however, said that attempts are being made to give a “mischievous interpretation” to the prime minister’s remarks. Singh said this is a moment where we must stand together as a nation and be united in our response to this brazen threat. Twenty Indian soldiers, including a colonel, were killed in the violent face-off with Chinese troops on the night of June 15/16 in eastern Ladakh’s Galwan Valley.

Noting that the country is standing at the historic cross-roads, Singh said the government’s decisions and actions will have serious bearings on how the future generations perceive us.

“Those who lead us bear the weight of a solemn duty. And in our democracy that responsibility rests with the office of the prime minister,” he said.

“The prime minister must always be mindful of the implications of his words and declarations on our nation’s security as also strategic and territorial interests,” he said.

The Congress veteran said China is “brazenly and illegally” seeking to claim parts of Indian territory such as the Galwan Valley and the Pangong Tso Lake by committing multiple incursions from April 2020 till date. “We cannot and will not be cowed down by threats and intimidation nor permit a compromise with our territorial integrity. “The Prime Minister cannot allow them to use his words as a vindication of their position and must ensure that all organs of the Government work together to tackle this crisis and prevent it from escalating further,” he said.

  “We remind the Government that disinformation is no substitute for diplomacy or decisive leadership. The truth cannot be suppressed by having pliant allies spout comforting but false statements,” he said.

Singh also said that the sacrifice of soldiers cannot be allowed to go in vain.

II/IV.
https://twitter.com/shen_shiwei/status/1274265369159426048?fbclid=IwAR3gIZSqRMUCTdwfWiMlK9S62Sda5HMJ-LwaVVvDzn9aKhjsQ-wmE2XmKQU

Shen Shiwei沈诗伟
@shen_shiwei
“No outsider was inside #Indian territory in #Ladakh nor had any border post of the Indian Army captured by outside forces.” Chinese media has translated the speech by #Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on an all- party meet called by him on Friday. #ChinaIndiaFaceoff

[Video clip of Indian Prime Minister's speech with Chinese sub-title.]

III/IV.
https://twitter.com/ajaishukla/status/1274063855031730177/photo/1

Ajai Shukla
@ajaishukla
It’s all settled! The prime minister of India signalled today that the Galwan valley — to defend which 20 Indian soldiers died this week — is not unambiguously Indian territory.

And, on cue, the Chinese Govt has officially repeated its claim to the entire valley.

#Sedition

[Screenshot of the statement of the Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson.]

IV.
http://in.china-embassy.org/eng/gdxw/t1790579.htm

Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Gave a Step-by-Step Account of the Galwan Valley Incident
2020/06/20

On June 19, 2020, Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Zhao Lijian gave a step-by-step account of the Galwan clash and elaborated China's position on settling this incident.

Zhao Lijian pointed out that the Galwan Valley is located on the Chinese side of the Line of Actual Control in the west section of the China-India boundary. For many years, the Chinese border troops have been patrolling and on duty in this region. Since April this year, the Indian border troops have unilaterally and continuously built roads, bridges and other facilities at the LAC in the Galwan Valley. China has lodged representations and protests on multiple occasions but India has gone even further to cross the LAC and make provocations. By the early morning of May 6, the Indian border troops, who have crossed the LAC by night and trespassed into China's territory, have built fortification and barricades, which impeded the patrol of Chinese border troops They deliberately made provocations in an attempt to unilaterally change the status quo of control and management. The Chinese border troops have been forced to take necessary measures to respond to the situation on the ground and strengthen management and control in the border areas.

In order to ease the situation, China and India have stayed in close communication through military and diplomatic channels. In response to the strong demand of the Chinese side, India agreed to withdraw the personnel who crossed the LAC and demolish the facilities, and so they did. On June 6, the border troops of both countries held a commander-level meeting and reached consensus on easing the situation. The Indian side promised that they would not cross the estuary of the Galwan river to patrol and build facilities and the two sides would discuss and decide phased withdrawal of troops through the meetings between commanders on the ground.

Shockingly, on the evening of June 15, India's front-line troops, in violation of the agreement reached at the commander-level meeting, once again crossed the Line of Actual Control for deliberate provocation when the situation in the Galwan Valley was already easing, and even violently attacked the Chinese officers and soldiers who went there for negotiation, thus triggering fierce physical conflicts and causing casualties. The adventurous acts of the Indian army have seriously undermined the stability of the border areas, threatened the lives of Chinese personnel, violated the agreements reached between the two countries on the border issue, and breached the basic norms governing international relations. China has lodged solemn representations and strong protests to the Indian side.

During State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi's phone conversation with External Affairs Minister Dr. S. Jaishankar, he repeated China's stern position, demanding India to carry out a thorough investigation into the incident, severely punish those who should be held accountable, strictly discipline Indian frontline troops, and immediately stop all provocative actions so as to ensure that such incidents do not happen again. A second commander-level meeting should happen as soon as possible to deal with the situation on the ground. The two sides agreed to handle in a just manner the serious situation caused by the Galwan Valley clash, observe the agreement reached during the commander-level meeting, cool down the situation on the ground as soon as possible, and uphold peace and tranquility of the border areas in accordance with bilateral agreements reached so far.

China hopes that India will work with us, follow faithfully the important consensus reached between the two leaders, abide by the agreements reach between the two governments, and strengthen communication and coordination on properly managing the current situation through diplomatic and military channels, and jointly uphold peace and stability in the border areas.
--
Peace Is Doable


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